US Appeals Court Upholds New Texas Abortion Rules

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -A federal appeals court has upheld new abortion restrictions that shuttered many of the abortions clinics in Texas.

A panel of judges on the New Orleans-based U.S. 5th Circuit issued the ruling Thursday, overturning a lower court’s decision that the rules violated the U.S. Constitution and served no medical purpose.

Texas lawmakers last year passed some of the toughest restrictions in the U.S. on when, where and how women may obtain an abortion. The Republican-controlled Legislature required abortion doctors to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital and placed strict limits on doctors prescribing abortion-inducing pills.

In its opinion, the appeals court said the law “on its face does not impose an undue burden on the life and health of a woman.”